After the little garden thief turned its nose up at the assorted tomatoes with blossom end rot that I had been using for bait, I tried some watermelon. The result: the woods on my family's farm has one more groundhog, and my garden has one less!

Congratulations!

Way to go!

Just how big/heavy do these get. That looks very similar to our wombats and from what I understand they fill basically the same niche.

Whwoz wrote: ↑Fri Aug 05, 2022 8:16 am Just how big/heavy do these get. That looks very similar to our wombats and from what I understand they fill basically the same niche.

I would think that they are about the same size as your wombats. These can get to be 60lbs but more often in the 40lb range.

MissS wrote: ↑Fri Aug 05, 2022 9:44 am

Whwoz wrote: ↑Fri Aug 05, 2022 8:16 am Just how big/heavy do these get. That looks very similar to our wombats and from what I understand they fill basically the same niche.

I would think that they are about the same size as your wombats. These can get to be 60lbs but more often in the 40lb range.

Yes, definitely about the same as our Walking Tanks. A big wombat can stretch out to nearly 4 feet long and push 80lb, but most would be smaller. Solitary creatures who have a habit of marking anything left lying on the ground in their territory, as Dad often finds out
Long since stopped being a surprise to find a green pile on any implements left outside at the folks.

They can be very affectionate if kept as a pet, however one needs to remember that they express their affection by biting.......ouch!

Typically a big old chuck might weigh 12 to 15 lb. That is after years of beans and alfalfa. I have lifted hundreds by the tail, and while I haven't put them on a balance, that is my estimate. You keep those 40-60 pounders away from here! That's beaver size!

I use sliced pears in box traps like above. This is about the week, early August, when the young start getting chased off by Mom, then thoroughly whipped by Dad when they wander to the next set of holes. So they have to strike out to find a place of their own. Most years that ends up being under our shed. For a few days at least...they only weigh 3-4 lb at that point.

Last year there were none. There is a new farmer doing the field where they come from, some truck crops last year instead of just corn/beans, and I wondered if they were poisoning or trapping them. Too close to town for firearms.

I hear that a large Havahart trap baited with cantaloupe and broccoli is the way to go. It looks like watermelon works fine, too.

Watermelon worked well for me too. I had a pair of them once (in the 40lb - 60lb range) and I caught both of them using my brothers fox trap along with the watermelon. For some reason they did not find the cantaloupe, apples or grapes appealing but younger ones like pictured above have enjoyed it.